For those commuting back and forth every day between Boulder and Longmont these past few months, there have been days when Diagonal Highway has seemed like a mall parking lot during the holiday shopping rush.

But even as Colorado Department of Transportation officials insist they are doing everything they can to ease traffic until the construction is scheduled to end next summer, some motorists, cyclists and residents are wondering if more could be done to help relieve the havoc locals say going through the cone zones are wreaking on their days .

The $4.5 million project that will add turn lanes, medians, sidewalks and traffic signals to the intersections at Jay and Niwot roads has been underway since late September. Already, they have affected local communities.

Residents of Gunbarrel in particular -- which is located east of Diagonal right between the two construction sites -- said they have felt the impact. Matt Samet -- who lives on Twin Lakes Road -- estimates traffic in the area has tripled during rush hours. Many people choose to go through town on 63rd Street as an alternate route.

"All the main arteries in and out get impassable and cars will back up for a mile or more, it seems," Samet said. "What seems to have happened is Gunbarrel became the de facto detour, but without CDOT proactively managing it."

Samet said he know the construction is necessary, but he thinks CDOT could have done a better job of mitigating the effects of the construction and maybe looked into opening up additional lanes during busier hours.

"I know it's for the greater good and I don't want to sound like a belly-acher, you got to do what you got to do," Samet said. "What would be nice is to see more outreach to people in Gunbarrel about how long this is going to take, what it's going to look like at different phases, what traffic will look like as it's being diverted. Maybe with more awareness solutions could be put forward."

It's not only residents feeling the impact of the traffic. Eric Budd bikes from his home in north Boulder to his workplace in Longmont three to four days a week on Diagonal Highway, but said that has become increasingly difficult with construction.

The road work eliminated the shoulders and has forced cyclists into the main flow of traffic at those intersections, Budd said.

"It's normally a good road to ride on because the shoulders are about the size of a full lane," Budd said. "But now, I have to take up a full lane."

Budd said he has considered taking an alternate route that is longer, but said the construction is a deterrent to riding at all.

"I know that bikes are a small portion of the traffic, but having safe access for bikes that does not require being in a lane would be great, though I don't know if that's realistic," he said. "It's definitely more stressful."

Ashley Mohr, a spokeswoman with CDOT, said the department understands the complaints and that they are constantly evaluating the site, but to this point all of the traffic measures in place have been "necessary."

"We're doing everything we can at this point," she said. "We are definitely aware of the delays, and we are trying to get folks through there as quickly as possible."

Mohr said because much of the construction is happening in the median, CDOT has had to close off the inside lanes for the safety of their workers.

"We have guys and gals out there close to those lanes and we have to close those lanes not only for our folks but for the safety of motorists and cyclists," she said. "People fly through this area, and lives can be put in danger."

Mohr said at this point due to the dry weather construction has been moving at a good pace, and the project is scheduled to be completed in May.

"We know it's a short-term inconvenience for everyone, but the improvement lanes in the future will mean in the long-run it will be better for the area," Mohr said. "We also want to make sure we do things right, so we don't have to go in a second time to do the inconvenience thing again for folks."

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